Outlook navigation changes in Microsoft 365
All Outlook 365 for Windows users are getting left-side menu changes rolled out to them soon. Here’s what’s changing and the customizations available with the new look.
The left-side navigation menu is changing from an optional ‘Coming Soon’ preview to the default view in Outlook 365 for Windows. The rollout is happening from mid-August 2022 (delayed from mid-July) through into late September 2022.
The current left navigation menu in Outlook 365 for Windows looks like this, with ‘Try the New Outlook’ Off.
Click on the box at the bottom of the menu to see more options including opening Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
The ‘new’ Outlook navigation looks like this:
It’s much the same and in this version there’s no customization possible.
However, in some Outlook 365 Insiders / Beta releases there’s more customization possible.
Right-click on any icon under the More Apps button and you should see ‘Pin’. That will move the icon to the left navigation menu. Unusually, you can’t drag an icon from the More Apps list to the menu.
However once on the left-menu, you can drag an icon to another position. Or right-click and choose Move Up, Move Down or Unpin.
Hovering over an Outlook icon (Email, Calendar, People) shows the ‘Peek’ view.
Right-click on any icon to see what options are available. For Outlook icons that includes the important ‘Open in New Window’ option.
You can switch to the New Outlook by choosing the option at top-right.
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